Seven Years In Tibet

Adventurer and journalist Peter Fleming introduces Harrer’s memoir of his time in Tibet by providing historical context for Harrer’s unique experience. He describes Harrer as someone who was brave and of strong character, and it was because of this strong character that he was accepted into Tibet. 

Tibet had long since been a subject of fascination for Europeans, but was largely inaccessible and hidden from the world. Few westerners managed to see it before it was taken over by China in 1950, and Harrer not only saw it, but spent years living there in the city of Lhasa. He tutored and befriended the adolescent Dalai Lama and left only when China forced many of Tibet’s inhabitants to India. 

Fleming paints Harrer’s position as one of seeing Tibet “from below,” because unlike most European travelers, he did not go there from a place of privilege. Instead, Harrer was fleeing a prisoner of war camp in India, and arrived in Tibet with nothing.

Heinrich Harrer explains the inspiration behind his decision to become a mountaineer. As a child, he admired men who pushed their limits and the limits of human accomplishment, and he wanted to do the same.